Means for removing foil from bottles



June 28, 1932.

C. W. GRIFFIN ET AL MEANS FOR REMOVING FOIL FROM BOTTLES Filed June 12,1930 2 Sheets-:Sheet l 2 //\{l ENT0R5 9L 2 ATTORNEY Jun 28, 1 c. w.GRIFFIN ET AL 1,864,592

MEANS FOR REMOVING FOIL FROM BOTTLES Filed June 12, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet2 m. a W

Patented June 28, 1932 UNITED- STATES PATENT oFncE CEABLES W. GRIFFIN,01' LYNWOOD, DANIEL SOHHIIL OI' PASADENA, AND LAWBENCI P. SINZ, 01 LOSANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOBS '10 GEO. J. KEYED. MANUFACTUR- INGCOMPANY, 01 CUDAHY, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN ma non. momsiron. raon norms Application filed Juno 1:, isao. Serial 110. 460,786. 1

The invention relates to means for removing foil from bottles.

t is customary to wrapthe necks of certain beverage bottles with foil,which is secured thereon with a suitable adhesive.

When cleaning these bottles, difficulty has been experienced in removingthe foil, be-

cause the foil resists the action of the usual soaking solution employedin the washing 1o operation. I

In order to overcome this difiiculty, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide simple but effective means for removing'orloosening the foil from the bottles by an 15 electric current of fusingstrength passing through the foil, the current either burning ofi thefoil completely or breaking it up-into small patches, fragments orshreds, to thereby enable the soaking solution to penetrate beneath thefoil and attack the adhesive in accordance with the method covered inthe application of Charles W. Grifiin and Lawrence P. Sinz for removalof foil from bottles, Serial No. 454,671, filed May 22, 1930.

Another object of the invention is to provide a foil-removing apparatusincluding spaced yielding electrodes or contactors between which thebottle is passed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a foil-removingapparatus including a plurality of independently yielding electrodes orcontactors engageable withlongitudinally spaced portions of'thefoil-covered bottle neck.

A further object of the invention is to perfeet details of constructiongenerally. I

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter setforth and more particularly defined by the annexed claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a top plan view of afoil-removing apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention, asit appears when operating on a bottle neck, parts of the apparatus beingbroken away and parts being shown in section;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the apparatus of Fig. 1, parts being brokenaway and parts being shown in section, and I Fig. 3 is a sectionalelevation of the anparatus, taken along the line 3-3 of Fi 1.

In these drawings, the numerals and 11 designate a pair of spacedparallel metal tubes which at their opposite ends fit withinshallow'bores 12 formed in the faces of insulating blocks 13,projections 14 on the tubes entering recesses in at least one of theblocks to prevent relative rotation of the tubes with respect to theblocks. The tubes andinsulating blocks are held in assembled relation bytie rods 15 passing centrally through the respective tubes and extendingthrough the blocks, nuts 16 being threaded on the opposite ends of therods. At an intermediate portion of each tube, the tie rod thereinpasses through an insulating bushing 17 which holds the rod centrallywithin the tube.

The nuts 16 on the ends of the tie rods also clamp the lower endportions of hangers 18 to the outer faces of the insulating blocks.These hangers are fixedly secured to any suitable supports19 which mayform parts of a bottle washing machine frame.

An upstanding metal bracket 20 is clamped about the metal tube 10 by abolt 21, and a pair of similar brackets 22 are clamped on the tube 11 bybolts 23, the brackets 22 being spaced at op site sides of the bracket20, and all of the rackets being in electrical contact with theirrespective supporting tubes. The number of brackets to be mounted on thetubes will depend upon the number of bottles to be simultaneouslytreated. A metal angle piece 24 forms an extension of each of thebrackets 20 and 22 and is secured thereon by screws 25.

Resilient metal blades 26 are conductively secured to the upstandinportions of the angle pieces 24 by means 0 bolts 27 and have their freeend portions projecting in the same direction, as. seen in Fig. 1. Eachof the blades 26 is longitudinally slotted, as seen in .Fig. 3, to forma plurality of parallel spring fingers 28 which have laterally extendingelectrodes or contactors 29 secured to their free ends. The oppositeelectrodes or contactors are spring-urged toward each other by thespring fingers 28 on which they are mounted, but are prevented fromtouching each other in theirnearmost positions by upstanding sto arms 30secured to the angle pieces 24 an en geable with the fingers.

The metal tu and 11 are provlded with respective terminals 31 and 32which are respectively connected by conductors 33 and 34 with a suitablesource of current 35, there being a switch 36 included in the conductor33. The source of current may furnish either alternatin -current ordirect-current at a suitable vo tage.

When the apparatus is in use, a bottle 37, having its neck portioncovered with foil 38, is passed between the electrodes or contactors 29in the direction indicated by arrows, the foil-covered neck portion ofthe bottle engaging the resiliently-mounted electrodes or contactors andurging them apart during the passage of the bottle. The conducting foilabout the bottle-neck completes a circuit from the source of currentwith the result that current of fusing strength flows through the foiland either burns it ofi com letely or separates it into small patches,ragments and shreds. These small pieces of foil can be easily removedduring the washing operation, since the soaking solution can thenreadily penetrate beneath the foil and attack the adhesive. The use of aplurality of spring fingers on each blade permits the electrodes orcontactors to engage the neck portion of the bottle along points ofdifierent diameters, as seen in Fi 2, thus facilitating the fusing orburning o the foil.

The bottle is shown to pass between the electrodes in an invertedposition, but it may obviously assume any desired position if theelectrodes or contactors are suitably arranged. While the passage of thebottles between the electrodes or contactors may be eifected by hand,the bottle is preferably supported and propelled by a suitable conveyor39 of a type well-known in the bottle washing machine art. Thisconveyor, which may be either continuously or intermittently driven, is,in many instances, a part of a bottle washing machine. As exemplified inUnited States Patent No. 1,429,960 to George J. Meyer for bottle washingmachines, dated September 26, 1922, the conveyor is of the type havingtransversely extending rows of bottle-holding pockets mounted on sidechains by which the conveyor is supported and impelled. The bottles ineach transversely-extending row on the conveyor pass simultaneouslybetween the respective pairs of electrodes or contactors. The bottleswhile passing between the electrodes'or contactors may be rotated, andthis may be accomplished either by hand or by means of suitably drivenreciprocatory spindles 40, one being shown in Fig. 3, engageable withthe bottle necks, such bottle-rotating spindles being well known in thebottle washing machine art. Spindles of this type are shown in the aboveUnited States Patent No.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for removing foil from a bottle, comprising a pair ofspaced hollow bars, insulating members on WhlCh the opposite ends ofsaid bars are mounted, tie rods I extending through said bars forsecuring said bars to 881d insulating members, brackets car ried by saidbars and s aced lon 'tudinally of said bars, and yiel bott e-deflectedelectrodes carried by said rackets and en ageable with the roll-coveredortion of the ttle passed therebetween to met an electric currentthrough the foil to burn the foil.

2. Apparatus for removing foil from hottles, comprising a pair of spacedelectrodes between which the foil-covered portions of the bottles may bepassed for conducting an electric current through the foil to fuse orburn the foil, and conveyor means for passing the successive bottlesbetween the electrodes.

3. Apparatus for removin foil from bottles, comprising a plurality 0pairs of spaced yielding bottle-deflected electrodes arranged in a rowbetween which a plurality of bottles may be res ctively andsimultaneousl passed in a irection perpendicular to sai row fordirecting an electric current through the foil to fuse or burn the foil.

4. Apparatus for removing foil from a bottle, comprising a pair of on sof indepzndently-yielding bottle-de ecte electrodes tween which thefoil-covered portion of the bottle may be passed for directing anelectric current through the foil to burn the foil, the electrodes ineach oup being engageable with and adaptedto be urged apart blongitudinally spaced portions of the bott e.

5. Apparatus for removing foil from hottles comprising supporting means,and a plurality of pairs of spaced yielding bottle-deflected electrodescarried in a row on said supporting means and between which a plura ityof bottles may be respectively passed in a direction transversely ofsaid row for directing a fusing electric current through the foil.

6. Apparatus for removing foil from hottles comprising a pair ofsupportin members insulated from each other and orming electricalconductors, a row of brackets conductively carried on said supportingmembers in alternate relation thereon, and pairs of electrodesconductively carried on said brackets and engageable with respectivefoilcovered bottles adapted to be passed therebetween in a directiontransversely of said supporting members for directing afusing electriccurrent through the foil.

7. Apparatus for removing foil from hottles, comprising a pair ofyielding bottledeflected electrodes adapted to engage and to be urgedapart by the foil covered portions of I III bottles passed therebetweenfor conducting an electric current through the foil to fuse or burn thefoil, and conveyor means for p the successive bottles between theelectrodes. 5 In testimony whereof, we afiix our signatures.

CHARLES W. GRIFFIN. DANIEL SGHMID. LAWRENCE P. SINZ.

